On May 7, 2020, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced that it will delay the collection of EEO data in 2020 because of the COVID-19 public health emergency.

Generally, companies with 100 or more employees and federal contractors with 50 or more employees and a contract of $50,000 or more with the federal government are required by law to file the EEO-1 form each year.  The EEO-1 report categorizes company employment data by race/ethnicity, gender, and job category.  The EEO-1 Report is used to collect data from private employers and government contractors about their women and minority workforce. The EEOC also use the EEO-1 Report data to support civil rights enforcement and to analyze employment patterns, such as the representation of women and minorities within companies, industries or regions.

The EEOC has stated that it “recognizes the impact that the current public health emergency is having on workplaces across America and the challenges that both employers and employees alike are now facing.”  The EEOC further understands that employers are “dealing with unique and urgent issues.”  The EEOC hopes that delaying collections until next year will allow filers to be in a better position to provide accurate, valid and reliable data.

The EEOC has stated that employers should be ready to submit 2019 and 2020 EEO-1 component data (Employer Information Report) in March 2021.  Further, the EEOC plans to begin collected the 2020 EEO-3 (Local Report) and EEO-5 (Elementary-Secondary Staff Information Report) data in January 2021.  The EEOC will announce specific dates once those dates become known.